May 2026 Minutes
MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL PARISH COUNCIL MEETING AND THE MONTHLY PARISH COUNCIL MEETING
HELD AT THE DANNY FLEAR COMMUNITY CENTRE ON
Thursday 21ST May – 7pm
Minutes taken by The Clerk: Mrs. Val Austin
(These minutes will be checked at the next meeting before the council amends/approves them as a correct record)
PRESENT: Cllr Nigel Marshall (Chair), Cllr Bridgett Posey (Vice Chair), Cllr Peter Bedford,
Cllr Roy Pearson, Cllr Amy Marshall, Cllr Shaun Pearson, Cllr Judith Godwin, and the
Clerk Val Austin.
Also Present: No members of the public were present
The Annual Parish council meeting was called to order at 19:03pm
Cllr Nigel Marshall read out the Chairman’s annual report – (Appendix A – See below)
1. Elect a chairman for the ensuring year 2026/2027
• On proposal from Cllr Bridgett Posey and seconded by Cllr Amy Marshall, and with no objections, all councillors Resolved for Cllr Nigel Marshall to continue as chair for the ensuring year 2026-2027.
2. Signing of the Declaration of Acceptance of Office by the Chairman to be
witnessed by the Proper Officer
• Cllr Nigel Marshall accepted the Chairmanship and duly signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office, which was witnessed by the Proper Officer.
3. To Elect a Vice Chair for the ensuring year 2026/2027
• On proposal from Cllr Judith Godwin and seconded by Cllr Peter Bedford, and with no objections, all councillors Resolved for Cllr Bridgett Posey to continue as Vice chair for the ensuring year 2026-2027.
4. Signing of the Declaration of Acceptance of Office by the Vice Chair to be witnessed by the Proper Officer
• Cllr Bridgett Posey accepted the Vice Chairmanship and duly signed the Declaration of Acceptance of Office, which was witnessed by the Proper Officer
5. To appoint representatives for the ensuring year 2026/2027
a) Appointment of representatives for Highway Matters
• Cllr Roy Pearson resolved to continue for highways
b) Appointment of representatives for the Danny Flear Community Centre
o Cllr Nigel Marshall resolved to continue as a representative for Danny Flear Community Centre
6. Freiston Poor Charity – Annual Report Update
• Cllr Nigel Marshall read out the annual report – (See appendix B)
The annual parish council meeting ended at: 7:07pm
The monthly parish council meeting started at 7:07pm
7. Chairman to open the monthly parish meeting: Welcome to you all, again!
8. Apologises: To receive and accept apologises where a valid reason for the absence has been given to the clerk prior to the meeting.
• Cllr Simon Pearson – No apologises received
9. Public Forum: To resolve to suspend the meeting for a maximum of 10 minutes to allow members of the public to ask questions or make short statements to the council.
• No members of the public were present
10. Police Matters: Stats & incidents are available to view on the police website.
• No police matters were presented
11. Minutes: To approve the minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on the 16th April 2026. To resolve as a correct record and to authorise the Chairman to sign the official minutes.
• All councillors Resolved for councillor Nigel Marshall to sign the minutes.
12. Declarations of interest (if any): To receive declarations of interest under the Localism Act 2011 – being any pecuniary interest in agenda items not previously recorded on Members’ Register of Interests.
• None declared
13. Planning update: Town and Country Planning Act 1990 - To consider and make observations on all planning applications received and to note planning approvals, refusals, enforcement complaints and appeal decisions advised by Boston Borough Council. – To include those received between the day of posting this notice and the day of the meeting.
• No planning received
14. Discuss and resolve the following items
14.1. Highway and Roads – Update
• Cllr Roy Pearson stated nothing new to report
• Cllr Shaun Pearson reported potholes along Butterwick Road to fixmystreet.
14.2. Fire at the Priory – Cllr Bridgett Posey
• Cllr Bridgett Posey has received complaints with regards to a neighbour burning commercial waste.
• Councillors discussed this issue and resolved that the clerk write to Boston Borough Council environmental health, and a copy to Lincolnshire fire and rescue.
• Update when available
14.3: Brand End Road – Holmers Lane – Cllr Nigel Marshall
A resident has complained regarding the speeding
• The Clerk has received a reply from Cllr Alistair Arundell, and has requested confirmation of where the speed limits are required.
• Councillors discussed: 60mph to 30mph near to Holmers Lane end, it is not a 40mph area.
• The clerk to reply to Cllr Arundell and send a letter to highways.
• Update when available
14.4: Park Lane speed bumps – To Note
• The clerk has emailed Cllr Alistair Ardunell twice regarding this issue and has not received a reply.
• Councillors suggested that the clerk write to LCC Highways,
• Update when available.
14.5: Pilgrim Fathers – Scalp Road – To Note
• Councillors discussed the resurfacing of the road, part funded by the Heritage fund.
• Boston Borough Council are trying to get LCC to adopt the road.
• This item to be removed from future agendas
14.6: Commemorative Plaques – To Note
• Cllr Bridgett Posey purchased the plaques and Cllr Shaun Pearson fixed them to the trees.
• Cllr Judith Godwin mentioned the oak trees came from Sandringham Woods.
• This item will be removed from future agendas
14.7: Mowing of Churchyard – Cllr Nigel Marshall
• From the April 2026 meeting, Cllr Nigel Marshal mentioned that the mowing at the churchyard was to be put on hold by the church warden.
• Councillor Nigel Marshall has spoken to the vicar and it has now been cut
14.8: Kings Head Radar Speed Radar Pole – Cllr Shaun Pearson
• The clerk has been in contact with LRSP and they advised that the radar camera to be removed. Cllr Nigel Marshall removed the camera.
• The clerk to contact LRSP to see when the pole will be fixed
• Cllr Nigel Marshall has requested extra hands to help with re-installing the camera.
14.9: Newsletter
• All councillors resolved for the newsletter to go to print.
14.10: Butterwick & Freiston Public Path Diversion order.
• The clerk received an email from Highways regarding the path diversion.
• The clerk sent the email to all councillors on 14th May 2026
• No Objections from the councillors
15. Finance:
15. Finance:
15.1 Bank Account: Statement of accounts as at 21st May 2026
• Bank Account: Statement of accounts as at 21st May 2026
Community Account Balance - £3.992.51
Instant Access Savings Account Balance - £25,479.20
Fixed Term Deposit Account - £40,000.00 – Maturity Date November 2026
15.2 To approve the accounts for payments
• Payments due May 2026 - £1,816.30
Payments made in between meetings - £234.53
Receipts received May 2026 - £18,543.29
15.3 To approve the 2025/2026 End of Year Accounts and the Internal Audit Report (AGAR), for the chairman and the RFO to sign the necessary paperwork.
• Cllr Nigel Marshall signed the AGAR
15.4 To approve section 1 & 2 of The Local Councils Annual Return, for the chairman and the RFO to sign the necessary paperwork.
• Cllr Nigel Marshall signed the return
16: Date of next parish council meeting: Thursday 18th June 2026 – 7:30pm
17: Any other business to go forward to the Thursday 18th June 2026 Agenda. / Note for information.
• Cllr Judith Godwin mentioned the church gates are wide open all the time,
• Cllr Nigel Marshall mentioned that the parish council pay for benches with the parish council name on them for the cricket club.
• Cllr Bridgett Posey, suggested that the parish council wait for now.
With no further business the meeting closed at 19.40 pm
Signed:
Dated:
Appendix A – 2026 Chairman Report
Chairman’s report for 2025/2026 – For Freiston Parish Council
A big thank you to all the Parish Councillors for their attendance, comments and support over the last year.
I am happy to see the Danny Flear Centre and the playing field well used by all again and the continued repairs to the play equipment. The cricket pavilion donation was well received and the work is continuing to improve the facility.
It was nice to see the full and half marathon passing through the village again this year, I’m not sure the windy conditions were what the competitors would have hoped for.
A thank you to Bridgett (and John) for raising the flags throughout the year and for arranging the plaques for the two new trees on the playing field.
Thank you to Shaun for putting up the new best kept village sign and the tree plaques.
Thank you to Judith (and all the parish councillors) for their continued efforts with the litter picking in the countryside and organising the two village little picks. I say this every year but I really feel it does make a big difference.
A big thank you to Val for her continued support throughout the year, and we hope her health continues to improve, we really appreciate you carrying on with the newsletter.
The speed awareness devices are a big success, hopefully the dated collected will continue to show a reduction in speeding in the village, we have only needed one post repair to one of the cameras.
A big thank you to all councillors for helping deliver the newsletter around the parish, the next one will be due soon.
Scalp Road, good to hear that it is being resurfaced at last, after we helped bring pressure to bare.
Signed: Chairman Cllr Nigel Marshall
Appendix B
Poor Charity Report by Cllr Nigel Marshll
• The charity can confirm that there were 92 recipients of the heating allowance. The amount payable was higher for the senior citizens who are aged 86 an above.
• There was 1 recipient of the Educational Grant
• There have been no applications for an extra payment due to exceptional hardship, however the trustees are to communicate this message in the Freiston Newsletter in the Autumn edition, along with the normal posters in the village post office and noticeboards.
• Two meetings were held in the year
• The charity received all the rents in a timely fashion from the tenants who rent various amounts of land from us.
• The charity completed its annual report to the Charity Commission on time.
Signed Cllr Nigel Marshall